Western Digital has added USB 3.0 connectivity to its My Book Essential, My Passport Essential and My Passport Essential SE external hard drive lines.

The My Book Essential also gets a capacity bump from the current 2TB range-topper to 3TB.

The Passport Essential runs to 500GB. The SE version is physically bigger, to accomodate 750GB and 1TB of storage.

There's a mark-up for USB 3.0 support, of course. For example, the USB 2.0 1TB My Passport Essential SE costs £150 direct from WD, but USB 3.0 version's Euro price, €200, converts to £173.

The 3TB My Book will retail for €300 (£260), the 750GB My Passport Essential SE for €150 (£130) and the 500GB My Passport Essential for €99 (£85). They'll be available shortlty, from retailers and WD's sales site. ®